


Autumn in New York

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Starting Over [32]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Romance, post-episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-07
Updated: 2012-12-07
Packaged: 2017-11-20 12:36:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/585487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now it was boyfriend time.  He had so much time to make up for and catch up on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Autumn in New York

**Author's Note:**

> Mild spoilers for episode 8x10, The Lesson. So thankful to Janine Sherman Barrois for the shout out to my ship, which got them talking in my head.

“Hey there, where are you tonight?” 

Beth sounded breathless to Hotch and he loved that. It had been three weeks since he held her, touched her, and that was just too damn long.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“I'm walking up the block.” He said.

“What block?” Beth asked.

“I'm walking up your block.”

“No you're not.”

“I am…you don’t believe me.”

“I'm coming.”

“Beth?” Hotch could hear rustling and other noises in the background. “Beth, what are you doing?”

“I'm coming. I'm coming to meet you. Hang up the phone, I'm coming right now.”

“Yes ma'am.”

Hotch hung up his cell phone and put it back on his hip. He was a half a block away from her apartment. The blocks in Brooklyn were long; the walker in him loved that. Even though the weather was changing, winter was practically here, he would make sure to get in at least one long walk this weekend. Of course Hotch and Beth would get plenty of exercise in a plethora of other amazing ways as well.

He saw her coming. She was running and he saw her pigtails flying behind her. Hotch was sure his smile was huge; he could feel his dimples pressing into his cheeks. He held out his arms and she ran straight into them. God, it felt so good to feel her close again.

“I missed you.” she kissed him. “I missed you, I missed you, I missed you.”

“Me too. Where is your coat?”

The talking stopped for more kissing. Neither gave a damn that they were standing on a crowded street in New York City. All that mattered were that they were back in each other’s arms. Long distance could be hell. The times together were amazing but the time apart was rough. Both had busy lives; Beth was making friends in the city. But in his arms was where she wanted to be and he was finally back.

“I don’t care about the coat, Aaron. I can't let you go.” She murmured, her mouth pressed against his.

Hotch wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to. They would be together for about 60 hours. He would be on a plane back to DC on Monday morning and then driving to Quantico. But that was the furthest thing from Hotch’s mind on Friday night. Now it was boyfriend time. He had so much time to make up for and catch up on.

“You're beautiful.” He took her face in his hands, kissing her nose and then her lips. “I missed you.”

“I'm so glad you're here. Why didn’t you tell me that you were coming?”

“And ruin the surprise, no way.” Hotch grinned. “I don’t think I would ever give up the chance to see that look of happiness on your face. We need to get inside; you're going to catch a chill.”

“You have the whole weekend?” she asked. They started walking down the street, arms still around each other.

“I'm staying until Monday morning.”

“Ooh, I must have been a good girl…Santa brought me an early Christmas present.”

“I talked to Santa actually, right before I got here. He said it was OK to be a bad girl. He said it was OK to be a very, very bad girl.”

Beth laughed, squeezing him. She laughed that slightly maniacal, graceless, amazing laugh and Hotch loved her even more. It wasn’t perfect, nothing ever could be, but it was what he wanted. He wanted to work the case and come home to that laugh. When she laughed like that the last thing on his mind was Unsubs who used humans for marionettes. There could be nothing but happiness when he heard that laugh.

“Is Jack going to be with his friends all weekend?” Beth asked.

“Its tonight and tomorrow with Jessie picking him up on Sunday afternoon.” Hotch replied. “I told him I’d pick him up on Monday evening.”

“I miss his face.”

“He misses you too. Did he talk to you about the planets?”

“Oh yeah.” she nodded. They walked up the steps to her apartment. It was a two floor walkup but Beth loved it. She still didn’t know how long she would be in New York. She was subleasing for a year but if she stayed longer than that she would have to find her own place. 

If she stayed longer than that she and Aaron would have to have a long conversation. “He told me he picked Saturn for his science paper because he liked the rings. We also had a long conversation about his Christmas list. He wants us all to see Santa together.”

“I know. I told him that we definitely would. C'mere.” Hotch pulled her into his arms as soon as the door was closed and locked behind them. “I just need to kiss you for about an hour.”

She wrapped her arms around him and surrendered. Beth probably couldn’t put into words how much she missed him. There was the phone, email, text, and Skype…the couple did it all. But physical contact was always her favorite. Aaron Hotchner was one of the most tactile men she’d ever met. It might be impossible to stop touching him the entire time he was there.

“Are you hungry? Do you want something to drink? Can I take your coat?”

“I don’t want anything but you.” he held her close. “It was a long week.”

“A tough case?” she asked, holding him tight.

“Yes.”

“Well you're here now and you don’t have to bring that with you. Open the door, Aaron, leave it outside.”

“You're my focus right now, I assure you.”

“Ditto.” Beth nodded. “So lets you get out of the coat and shoes…and the tie.” She laughed. “You can relax on the couch, I’ll make you hot cup of tea and…”

“And…” he kissed her again. Hotch moaned when her body pressed on his. They’d be lucky to make it to the tea. He felt like a horny sailor on shore leave. It was a feeling he wanted to embrace.

“And we’ll make it up as we go along. C'mon,” 

Beth reluctantly pulled out of his arms. She slid his go bag off his shoulder and put it beside the closet door. The coat came next and went inside the closet. Then the suit jacket and tie came off. She unbuttoned two buttons on his dress shirt before rolling up his sleeves.

“Take your shoes off, Mister.”

“Yes ma'am.” Hotch smiled as the oxfords came off and went beside his go bag. 

She walked him into the living room, sitting him on the couch. They had another round of kisses before Beth held him off long enough to get to the kitchen. Hotch put his feet up on the ottoman and petted the dog, who promptly put her head in his lap when Beth walked away. He leaned his head back on the couch and closed his eyes for just a moment. 

It felt nice to be relaxed. In the field, Hotch was never relaxed. His brain constantly buzzed and his guard was always up. Things could go from routine to apocalyptic in the blink of an eye. 

It was never that way with Beth. This was where the buzzing stopped. This was home…she was home. His eyes opened when he felt Beth kiss him. When she straddled him, the weight of her was as comfortable as always.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” she smiled.

“I don't think I'm awake right now. This has to be an awesome dream.” Hotch slipped his hands under her top and rubbed her back.

“Nope, this is the real deal Agent Hotchner.” Beth took his hands, held them together, and rubbed them. “Your hands are amazing but cold.”

“There are probably a million creative ways we can think of to warm them up.”

“I have a great one.” She leaned to whisper in his ear, loving the way Hotch shivered before a word was ever said. “You can wrap them around a hot…cup of tea.”

“I love you.” he laughed.

“I love you too, Aaron.”

“I didn’t even hear the kettle whistle.” He rubbed his hands together, tested them on his face, and put them on Beth’s back again. “Does that feel alright?”

“If alright translates to absolutely amazing I can only answer yes.” She nodded. “I bought the teakettle that doesn’t whistle because it scared Nelle. This is a smaller space than we used to be in and the noise is more acute. I made you a cup of Sleepytime but I think you're doing OK on your own.”

“I'm actually about to get my second…” Hotch thought about it. “This might actually be my fourth wind of the night.”

“I want you to get some rest.”

“Well I wanna make love to you, Miss Clemmons. What do you think about that?”

“I think naked cuddling might do us both some good tonight.” Beth ran her fingers through his hair. “I think that’s what I miss the most when you're far away. I just want to be close.”

“But without clothes?” Hotch asked.

“It’s most definitely going to be without clothes.”

“Hold onto me.”

Beth smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. Hotch stood from the couch with little effort even though he was exhausted. It was such a turn on that he could lift her as if she weighed no more than a bag of groceries. Hotch walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind him. Nelle scratched but the couple paid her no mind. 

Once they were in bed, Beth began to undress him. Hotch closed his eyes. He moaned softly when her lips fluttered across his stab wounds. As usual, Beth kissed each one. She always told him they were a part of him; made him the man that she loved. Despite all the pain he was still on earth for a reason.

“Cuddling.” He whispered as he shook his dress slacks off and pulled them from under the blankets. Beth palmed the front of his boxer briefs, gently squeezing.

Beth smiled, hugging him. Hotch exhaled as he held her tight. She smelled do good and felt so good in his arms. She was still dressed but the man she loved handled that in a matter of minutes. His boxer briefs landed on top of her lounge clothes on the floor.

‘Tell me how work is.” He said, kissing her shoulder. They were spooning, a favorite position for the couple in bed. “It feels like forever since we just talked. I'm sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for?” Beth asked. 

“I do that a lot, don’t I?”

“Mmm, you have your moments. It’s alright, but know that you don’t have to. Work is really good right now. We’re in the process of acquiring religious paintings, sculptures, and other artwork for an exhibit beginning March 30th. If the deal I'm working on comes through we could get a Luini.”

“Luini…I know that name. Why do I know that name?”

“He's painted quite a few famous paintings and was a contemporary of Leonardo. One of his most famous is Salome Receiving the Head of John the Baptist. It’s currently hanging in The Louvre.”

“That’s Emily’s favorite painting.” Hotch replied. “That’s why I know the name. We talked about it once. She felt a closeness with Salome, I remember that.”

“Have you ever seen it up close?” Beth asked.

“This will sound a bit strange but I've seen an almost perfect replica. I've never seen the real painting.”

“You might be in luck…if my deal works out. I should know by the middle of next week. It would be a big boost for me, and the museum, if we get a painting from The Louvre.”

“Honey, was that just weird?” Hotch asked.

“What?”

“I mentioned Emily…in bed with you.”

“You didn’t mention Emily in bed with me.” she tried not to laugh but failed. “Keep your fantasies to yourself, Aaron Hotchner. I mean unless it’s really kinky. Then I want to know.”

“Beth…”

“It wasn’t weird.” She turned in his arms. “We were talking about a painting, which happens to be Emily’s favorite. She’s your friend Aaron, she’s Jack’s friend, and I happen to like her too. Talking about her, about any woman, is OK. It wasn’t weird.”

“OK.” Hotch nodded, his smile nervous. He never wanted Beth to think…he wasn’t sure what he didn’t want Beth to think. He just didn’t want to say the wrong things. Hotch knew what he felt in his head and heart. That’s what needed to come from his mouth. “I'm sure that the deal is going to work out and I'm going to be looking at that painting very soon. I also think that I need to add cuddling to the short list of things that are perfect.”

“You have to specify naked cuddling.” Beth kissed him. “Regular cuddling is quite nice but naked cuddling is…”

“Oh yes it is.” Hotch’s hands moved down to cup her ass. Beth wrapped her leg around him. He kissed her deeply, passionately, and felt the mood change. That suited him just fine. One thing Hotch was getting better with was going with the flow. It was a slow but quite enjoyable process.

“Have I told you that I love you today?” 

“Mmm hmm,” Beth nodded.

“What about yesterday and the day before that?”

“Yes and yes.”

“I also love the way you say yes.” He rolled then on the mattress so that Hotch was on top of her.

“Yes Agent Hotchner…yes, yes, yes.”

***


End file.
